Bromley 2 Dover Athletic 2 - match report

Substitute Kane Richards headed a late equaliser as Dover came from 2-0 down to draw their National League derby at Bromley on Saturday.

Chris Kinnear's side trailed to goals from Louis Dennis and Jack Holland at half-time but improved significantly in the second half.

Mitch Brundle's neat 55th minute finish halved the deficit, before Richards, a late replacement for Kadell Daniel, popped up in stoppage time to seal an excellent comeback.

Mitch Brundle. Picture: Tony Flashman

Whites remain without a win in four National League matches but climbed a place to fifth, four points behind leaders Sutton.

Boss Kinnear made one change to the team beaten 1-0 at home by Fylde last week, with winger Daniel coming in for striker James Alabi who dropped to the bench.

Kinnear's Bromley counterpart Neil Smith made three changes to his side, and sprang a surprise by playing his skipper Jack Holland, usually a centre-half, as a forward.

The home side started well, with some good link-up play up front, but it was Dover who created a couple of early chances.

First Mitch Pinnock played a good diagonal ball to Daniel whose first touch was good but with his second he blazed high and wide.

Then a swift Dover counter ended with skipper Brundle's shot being well turned aside by home keeper David Gregory.

Femi Ilesanmi fired wide after running on to Daniel's pass and it was midway through the half before Dennis had Bromley's first shot on target but it was straight at Mitch Walker.

Dennis was the game's liveliest player before the interval and it was he who broke the deadlock on 32 minutes swapping passes with Josh Rees before strolling through to slot under Walker to claim his third goal against Whites this season.

Bromley now had the bit between their teeth and with Dover looking to get to half-time the visitors conceded a second in the 42nd minute.

The goal was a disaster from Dover's point of view with Frankie Raymond's corner being headed home unchallenged at the far post by makeshift striker Holland.

Kinnear had to change something for the second half and he did, throwing on Anthony Jeffrey and Ejiro Okosieme for Nortei Nortey and Loui Fazakerley.

Within 10 minutes the move had yielded reward as Jeffrey did brilliantly to get to the byline before cutting the ball back for skipper Brundle who finished smartly with a sidefoot volley from eight yards.

The goal changed the game completely and Dover should have been level just before the hour when Giancarlo Gallifuoco helped the ball back from the byline and Manny Parry glanced his header just wide from underneath the crossbar. The big defender complained to the referee that he had been pushed.

Bromley had a rare chance midway through the half when a Dennis cross was met by Holland whose header hit Parry and rolled goalwards before Walker fell on the ball.

But the visitors went within a whisker of an equaliser on 72 minutes when Ilesanmi's low drive was deflected agonisingly wide and with eight minutes left Pinnock's free kick picked out Connor Essam whose header was firm but straight at Gregory.

Dover finally got the reward their efforts deserved when Bromley twice failed to deal with crosses into the box, and, after Parry had knocked the ball down winger Richards pounced to rescue a point with his first league goal for Whites.

Even there was was more drama as Whites got the ball into the net again only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.